


Unexpected Reunion

by CptScarlett



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Best Friends, F/M, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:34:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26906695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CptScarlett/pseuds/CptScarlett
Summary: Leonard McCoy and Jessica Chastain met in college and became best friends. But neither can forget the first kiss that never happened the first night they met.When Jessica shows up as the new Chief Science Officer on the Enterprise, how will he handle the feelings they both denied themselves for so many years?
Relationships: Leonard "Bones" McCoy/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Unexpected Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> A sort of one-shot piece I wrote. I really like it and hope you do, too. Here's to happiness for one of my favorite Doctors, Leonard McCoy.
> 
> I pulled some of the backstory/lore facts and information from various fan and official sites, as well as the Alternate Original Series graphic novels I've been reading. 
> 
> (I only own my original characters, but if I did own the others, boy wouldn't we have fun!)

McCoy had been dealing with an outbreak of Levodian Flu on the ship for days, barely taking a break to sleep, much less read the latest reports and messages coming across his desk from the rest of the ship. If it wasn’t marked ‘URGENT’ it wasn’t getting his attention.

So, he’d missed the notice that a new Chief Science Officer was coming on board the ship, or that the Captain was going to be bringing her around for introductions. He’d known they were opening up the position—even though Spock was a genius at the sciences, he’d decided his position as first officer took precedence and felt he could still assist the Science department from a more unofficial capacity.

Of course, since he’d missed the announcement of said new science officer coming on board, and that sickbay was next on the schedule for her visit with the Captain, he’d have also missed her name.

Jessica Chastain.

Had he known it was Lt. Commander Jessica Chastain that had been chosen for the position, that she’d beamed on board the ship just hours before, and that she’d be walking into his department, he might have been better prepared…

“And here’s our top of the line sickbay, Lt. Commander Chastain. May I introduce you to our Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Leonard McCoy.”

McCoy swung around, his brain only beginning to compute the last name Kirk had said when he saw her standing only a few feet away. “J-Jess?”

Kirk’s eyebrow raised. “Bones, you know our new Chief Science Officer.”

The woman smiled softly and nodded. “Hello Leonard.”

He stepped forward a few feet, brain still trying to compute the woman now standing in his sickbay, who-knows how many thousands of light years away from Earth. “Jess, I— I had no idea you’d even entered Starfleet. You’re on the Enterprise now? When did you get here?”

Kirk rolled his eyes. “Bones, I sent you the report a week ago.”

McCoy blinked, slowly dragging his gaze away from Jessica. “I—I’ve been a little busy Jim. That’s what happens when a crewmember with Levodian Flu goes to one of your staff morale parties. Half the crew ends up with it.”

“Well, Bones,” Jim said as he reached out and smacked his friend on the shoulder. “We’re having another one of those parties tonight to welcome Chastain on board. Since you two seem to already know each other, and this was the last stop on our tour and introductions,” he turned to his new CSO to finish, “I’ll just leave you here, if you don’t mind, Lt. Commander? I need to get back to the bridge.”

“No problem, Captain. Thank you for the tour. I’ll see you tonight in the Officer’s Lounge. 1800 hours, correct?”

“That’s right. See if you can convince the good doctor here to join us. He never comes to my parties.” The Captain grinned again as he glanced between his CSO and CMO, then quickly ducked out.

“Jess, it’s so good to see you!” McCoy quickly bridged the distance between them and pulled Jessica into a hug.

He felt as much as heard her chuckle. “Good to see you too, Leonard.”

McCoy pulled back, hands still on her shoulders, and looked her over, tears threatening at the corner of his eyes. “How long has it been, Jess?”

“Since we saw each other in person? Oh, probably five years. And four since we last talked,” she said, eyes down staring at the ground in front of him.”

“I’m so sorry Jess. I—there’s so much to tell you. So much to explain. We have so much to get caught up on.”

She took a deep breath and looked back up at him. He saw so much emotion swirling in her eyes. He understood it. He felt it himself. “Well, I’m not going anywhere, anytime soon, I suppose, so we’ll have plenty of time.”

He smiled again, letting go of her shoulders but continuing to gaze at her. “This is amazing. Suddenly being stuck on this tin can in the middle of space doesn’t seem quite so miserable.”

“I, um—I should get going. Get back to my quarters and take a few hours to get settled in and unpacked before I need to get ready for the party.”

“I’ve got to get a couple more hours of work in here.”

“I heard—Levodian Flu, huh? Well, just be sure you aren’t overworking yourself—you always were one to get hyper-focused and forget to rest.”

“Oh good, another mother to make sure I’m taking care of myself. The nurses do a great job of harping on me.”

“Glad you’ve had someone around to keep you in line. And no, not another mother. How about a really good friend?”

He smiled. “The best of friends is more like it. You always were.”

She gave him a sweet smile, but he noticed a hint of sadness in her eyes. “Yeah, you weren’t too bad either, McCoy. So, will I see you at the party tonight?”

“For you? I wouldn’t miss it. I’ve got to start making up for all those missed years.”

* * *

“Alright, spill it.”

Leonard half heard Jim Kirk and turned towards him. “Hmm?”

“I said spill it.”

“Spill what?”

“You and Jessica. You knew each other, but it must have been a long time ago because you didn’t know she’d gone into the Academy. That, and you’ve been watching her from across the room all night.”

Leonard blinked and turned back to look at the woman in question. “Jess and I met our sophomore year in college…”

* * *

_***Fifteen Years Ago - University of Mississippi New Year’s Eve Party - Sophomore Year*** _

“Leonard McCoy, this is my friend Jessica Chastain that I told you about.” Their common friend, Steve, said as he motioned from one to the other.

“Miss Chastain, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Leonard practically yelled to be heard over the loud music.

“Nice to meet you too, Leonard. While I appreciate the charm of a southern gentleman using his manners, please call me Jessica,” she yelled back as they shook hands.

“I’m going to leave you two to get to know each other, I need to go find Amanda,” Steve said before quickly turning and leaving.

The two stood there, looking around the room, awkwardly unsure of what to say to each other. Finally, Leonard spoke up. “Music is a little loud, don’t you think?”

Jessica groaned loudly. “God, yes! I feel as if my ear drums could rupture any moment now.”

“How about we head out to the patio? Maybe it’ll be a little quieter there.”

“That sounds wonderful, lead the way.”

Jessica followed Leonard, and soon they were deep in conversation. They talked about their common interest in the medical field, and their common desire to go to med school. An hour later, they strolled around a quiet garden off the main patio. The music was dulled and very few of the partygoers were strolling around, Jessica let out a loud laugh at a joke Leonard had told.

As her laugh settled down she smiled. “I’m so glad Steve finally found someone less dull to introduce me to. The past few guys he’s tried to set me up with were terrible. I keep telling him I don’t have time to date, I’m too busy studying.”

“It’s so nice to hear someone else say that! I keep telling him the same thing!”

“Well, if I’m going to be stuck with a non-date, I’m happy it’s you, Leonard McCoy. I’ve quite enjoyed our conversation.”

“Yeah, me too.”

They’d stopped walking, and now Leonard gazed down at her. He gulped, and she did the same.

_10… 9… 8…_

At that moment they heard the countdown from the main house. It was almost midnight. He glanced down at her lips.

7… 6… 5…

“So, how strongly do you believe in the tradition of kissing the person you’re with at midnight of the New Year?” Leonard breathed.

4… 3… 2…

“I think… I’m not opposed to the idea.”

Leonard leaned in, and with inches between them. Suddenly from around the corner came two younger college students running hand in hand, giggling. One ran right into Leonard, sending his feet right out from under him. He landed on the ground hard and his head thumped against the brick walkway.

* * *

“Wait, wait… you _almost_ kissed her. But you didn’t?” Back in the present day, Jim Kirk couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“I got knocked over by some pretty boy freshman who was finding a quiet corner to make out with his girlfriend!”

“So what then?”

“We laughed it off and became the best of friends. We were practically inseparable for the next three years. We entered med school together.”

Kirk frowned. “But she’s not in Medical… she’s in Science… what happened?”

Our first year of med school… her twin brother was in a serious accident. The doctors couldn’t save him. Something about it changed her. She said she just couldn’t handle the idea of being a doctor anymore. But she always encouraged me to keep going. She changed her focus and went into xenobiology and xenobotany. Hence how she ended up in the Science Department at the Academy. She’s practically a genius—she would have excelled at anything she put her mind to.”

“As is obvious by her Academy ranking. She was top of her class.”

“No surprise there. I really need to find out what made her decide to join Starfleet. Last I talked to her, she thought it was a terrible idea.”

“When was that?”

A few days before I first met you. I called her and told her I was joining Starfleet. She told me I was an idiot, that running away wouldn’t help anything, and to come see her.”

“Did you?”

“No. She was in New York City and I was in Iowa.”

“There’s something more to this story, isn’t there? There has to be. I see it in the way you look at her. When did you finally get up the guts to kiss her?”

“I never did. We were best friends. That woulda been weird.”

“Not if you were in love with her.”

“What are you talking about?”

Jim ignored the question and kept going. “So, what happened?”

“My last year of med school, I met Pamela.”

“Your ex-wife.”

“Yeah.”

“And?”

“We had an unconventional wedding. Jessica was my ‘Best Woman’ and Steve was Pamela’s ‘Best Man.’”

“Steve—Steve who you caught Pamela sleeping with. Wait, is that the same Steve you just said introduced you to Jessica? And… hold on, Jessica was like your Best Man?”

The sound of Jessica laughing at a joke Scotty had told her momentarily caught Leonard’s attention . He turned to watch her again and sighed. “Yeah, yeah, she was. My Best Woman.”

“Something went down between you two. There’s something you’re not telling me.”

“The night before the wedding, Jess and I went out for drinks…”

* * *

_***Seven Years Ago*** _

“Here’s to me getting married tomorrow. Hey, aren’t you supposed to be giving the toast here? You are my Best Woman, after all.”

Jessica rolled her eyes. “Hey, if this wedding is going to be as unconventional as having a woman stand by the groom as ‘Best Woman’ and a man stand by the Bride as ‘Man of Honor’ — and if said groom and Best Woman are just going to go to a bar for drinks the night before, then I don’t have to come up with sappy stuff to say about you.”

“Aw, come on—nothing? You’ve known me eight years and you’ve got nothing nice to say to me the night before I get married?”

Leonard couldn’t miss that Jessica suddenly grew serious. She stared down at her drink. “She couldn’t have found a better man,” she whispered before looking back up at him.

He gulped. “Jess, I—”

“Here’s something for you, McCoy. How about a trip down memory lane?” She said, then took a deep swing of her drink.

“O-okay. To what memory are we going to travel?”

“The night we met.”

“New Year’s Eve, U. Miss. Sophomore Year.”

“Yup.”

“What about it?” He asked slowly. There was one unmistakable memory from that night burned into his mind. One he’d been ignoring for eight years.

“You ever wonder about that night?” She asked. He remained quiet, and she was staring at her drink again. She continued. “You ever wonder… what would have happened if you hadn’t gotten run over by that freshman? If we’d managed that New Year’s kiss?” After another moment of his quiet, she looked up at him, and instead of the jovial fun Jessica she normally portrayed, he saw hurt. But in a flash she’d steeled herself and masked it with a smile and a shrug, waving it off. “Yeah, me neither. So, you going to drink or not?” She said, motioning to his drink before looking back to her own and taking another big gulp and looking the other direction.

* * *

Jim Kirk groaned. “Oh, Bones, you are such an idiot.”

“Yeah, you think I haven’t figured that out by now?”

“You were in love with her, but settled for second best. Then you found out she was in love with you, too.”

“She didn’t exactly put it that way.”

“Oh, she told you. Maybe not in those exact words, but she told you.”

“It was the night before my wedding, Jim.”

“Yeah—about that. What did you do?”

“She backtracked so fast I could never talk to her about it. She pretended the conversation had never happened. I got married.”

“I’m guessing Pamela didn’t let you keep going out for drinks with your best friend after you got married, did she?”

“She didn’t really have to. Not long after, Jess took a job as Lead Scientist for this research company in New York City. We talked and would video chat every so often.”

“So how did you miss that she went into the Academy?”

“That last conversation we had… when I told her I was joining Starfleet… it ended on a sour note. I… I never called her back.”

Jim moved to stand between Bones and the object of his gaze. “Bones. You haven’t talked to your best friend—whom you happen to still obviously be in love with—till today? You’ve been divorced for… five years? At least?”

Leonard scowled and took a swig of the liquor glass he’d been holding to tightly—the one that had been refilled a few times that night. “I’m very well aware of what an idiot I am, Jim.”

“Bones, you need to fix this. You need to tell that woman how you feel. And however it turns out, whether she slaps you or pulls you into her quarters for a wild night… all I ask is that you find a way to act professionally when on duty.”

Leonard’s scowl only grew deeper. “Dammit Jim, stop trying to be a love doctor. Jess deserves more than a one-night stand and you know that’s not the way I work, either.”

“Dammit Bones, stop being such an idiot and go talk to her! I’m not telling you to have a one-night stand, I’m telling you that you’ve been given a second chance and you need to take it.”

* * *

“Hey there.”

Jessica turned to him and smiled. His heart raced. For fifteen years he’d denied his feelings for this woman. Was Jim right? Was now the time to finally settle things?

“Hey,” she said with a smile. “You came.”

“Of course I came. I told you, I gotta make up for being such a jerk the past five years.”

“I wasn’t exactly nice to you the last time we talked… when you told me you were entering Starfleet. I shouldn’t have reacted so harshly.”

“I deserved it. Truth is, I _was_ running away. Thankfully, I ended up here.” He said as he looked around and motioned vaguely with his hand.

“Yeah, I’m going to do you a favor and not spread around that you’re thankful you’re on a starship in the middle of space. I’ve heard about how much you grumble about it.”

He smiled. “Yeah, I do. Seriously though, Jess, you gave so much _for_ me and _to_ me over the years. You were always such a good friend. You had a right to say what you said.”

“I _was_ proud of you. Once I cooled down and realized what a big deal it was for you to do what you were doing.”

Leonard glanced around, the party was slowing down as more and more of their colleagues were leaving the party. He hoped to continue their conversation in a more of a private setting. “How much longer do you plan on staying? Want to take a walk?”

She glanced around, then took a deep breath and looked back. “Sure, a walk sounds nice.”

They waved goodbye to Jim, who smiled as they turned and headed out of the officers’ lounge.

Once they were well away from the lounge, Bones spoke again. “So, you gonna tell me how _you_ ended up in Starfleet?”

“Maybe I was just running after you?”

Leonard’s eyebrow perked up. He may hope for a future for he and his best friend, but he knew she wasn’t one to run after anyone. “Really?”

“No. But you had something to do with it. One day I just realized how ridiculous it was of me to be stuck on Earth when I was an expert in alien life. And I thought—if Leonard can go to the stars, I sure as hell can.”

Leonard grinned. “That’s my girl. I’m glad our competitive spirits pushed you to bigger things. Your talents were wasted at that research facility. And here we are—you, the Chief Science Officer on Starfleet’s flagship. I’m proud of you too, ya know.” He said, leaning towards her and gently nudging her.

She blushed and smiled. “Thanks.”

They soon made it to a large observation window. There was a bench nearby, but they stood at the window and stared out at the stars as they flew by. After a few minutes of quiet, Bones spoke up.

“You know, you never gave me a chance to respond to your question that night.”

Jessica frowned. “What night?”

“The night before my wedding.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah…”

“You didn’t need to… don’t need to.”

Leonard turned around and leaned against the wall. “Yeah, I think I do.”

“That was a long time ago.”

“Have things changed for you? Did you find someone after I ran off to Starfleet?”

She crossed her arms over her chest, gently hugging herself and glancing towards the floor from where she’d been gazing out at the stars. “No.”

“To which question?”

She swallowed. “Both.”

“Good. Because not much has changed for me either. You’re still my Best Woman.”

A smile curled at the corner of her mouth. “Yeah, sure. You’re just saying that because you’re stuck with me on this ship.”

“Being stuck with you on this ship is the best thing to happen to me since fifteen years ago when I met you that night at the party.”

“A lot’s happened to you since then, Leonard. College graduation, med school graduation, your wedding…”

“We see how well that one went for me.”

She did her best to ignore that comment and continued listing off his accomplishments. “Academy graduation, this ship. You’re the Chief Medical Officer of the Enterprise!”

He shook his head. “I’m gonna have to stand my ground on this one. You’re the best thing to ever happen to me, Jess. You changed my life. I would have never survived college or med school without you. And even though Pam made me distance myself, even with what you said that night—you were still so good to me.” He took a deep breath. “So here’s where I answer your question from that night. Yes, yes I did used to think about it, and I still do.”

Jessica swallowed hard, not looking at him but keeping her gaze trained on the stars ahead of them. “And.. Wh-what exactly did… do… you think about?”

Leonard leaned towards her and placed his palm on her cheek, turning her face towards his. “What would have happened if that kiss hadn’t been interrupted.”

“And… what do you think would have happened?” she whispered.

“I don’t know, but I think it’s about time I find out,” he whispered back as he leaned closer, looking between her eyes and her lips.

When their lips met, for Leonard McCoy it was as if time suddenly reversed a full fifteen years at warp speed to that night in the garden, then suddenly came racing back to the present. It was a gentle kiss, and neither were sure how much time had passed but when they finally pulled back to look into each other’s eyes her arms were around his neck, one of his hands was at her waist and the other still resting on her cheek.

“Wow,” she whispered.

“Yeah, wow.”

“So, what do you think?” she asked, still quietly.

“About what? The kiss?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, it proves I am correct about one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“For the first seven years of our friendship I was stupid, for the next four years I was an idiot, and for the last four I’ve been a fool. I had the love of my life right by my side the whole time, and I was such a fool to let that slip by. Not this time. Not ever again. I love you.”

THE END


End file.
